Former RBS chairman Mathewson pledges £20,000 to ‘Yes’ campaign

Former Royal Bank of Scotland chairman Sir George Mathewson has donated £20,000 to the ‘Yes’ campaign for Scottish independence in the final weeks before the referendum on 18 September.

Fundweb revealed that a number of key figures from the UK asset management and banking industries have already pledged some of the largest donations to both sides on the independence debate.

The latest and final list of donations issued by the final Electoral Commission ahead of polling day this Thursday reveals that Mathewson was one of only two individuals to donate to Yes Scotland limited, pledging £20,000 at the end of August.

The only donation to be made to a pro-union campaign over the same period came from Chelsea Football Club vice-president Joe Hemani who pledged £10,000 to the celebrity-backed Let’s Stay Together campaign.

Mathewson is the honorary vice-president of Yes Scotland. He has previously argued in a letter to the FT that a vote for independence is “an opportunity, not a threat” for the financial sector.

Mathewson also signed a letter to The Herald newspaper along with a further 199 business names in a show of support for Scottish independence.

However Royal Bank of Scotland itself has continually expressed concerns that Scottish independence would have a “materially adverse effect” on its business, confirming that it would look too move its registered office down to London in the event of a ‘yes’ vote.

Last week saw former deputy leader of the Scottish National Party Jim Sillars argue that BP and banks were “in cahoots with an English Tory prime minister” and would face a “day of reckoning” after independence. However Scotland’s first minister later rejected these claims.

Now there is commitment -and opportunities – for the man who successfully ran . . . RBS ( When it was a Royal Bank successfully and ethically – for the benefit of customers, and to the bank – see Small businesses who are having to SUE . . . .RBS for destroying their business – in the same way Halifax and Bank of Scotland did – for racketeering and ripping off clients – with threats and implementation of closing their businesses . With fore-sight and opportunity for the business of wealth – and Cornelian Asset Management . . . . . there are major opportunities North and South of the border for clients and respectable . . . banks . . . but most importantly BUSINESSES . . . . .and the few remaining insurance companies . . . .( including Prudential Scottish Amicable Royal London which incorporates Scottish Life ).